Visitor management - Quoz Arts Fest

Visitor management is the method of providing techniques to create an experience

in the right sequence, at the proper time, at the proper speed, and at the appropriate
price - all while ensuring that the consumer is satisfied. Visitor management, as the
name implies, seems to be the process of keeping record of who enters and exits an
event. Events track the use of services by individual visitors and give proof of their
whereabouts by collecting growing volumes of data. Therefore, in a festival such as
Quoz Arts Fest it is vital for the visitor manager to plan customer service so that
visitor patterns are controlled, bottlenecks can be minimized, and queues can be
handled appropriately.

Analysis of existing Visitor Management

Demand and Capacity

Demand is unpredictable in visitor planning and when demand fails to fulfill
expectations, a festival like Quoz Arts Fest can face the issue of underutilization of
resources. On the other hand, possible profits might be sacrificed when demand
exceeds capacity. When analyzing the existing level of visitor management, it can be
understood that Quoz Arts Fest predicted demanded and determined capacity in
such a manner that there was overutilization of resources. In 2020, there were
38,000 visitors over the course of 3 days at Al Serkal Avenue and initial plan of the
organizers was to target around 25,000 visitors as per Charlotte York the Associate
Director of Communications at Quoz Arts Fest.

“We had 38,000 people visit over the weekend, much higher than our target of
25,000 so we are thrilled!” — Charlotte York, Associate Director of Communications

This demonstrates the fact that Quoz Arts Fest failed to take into consideration
capacity ceiling in which demand exceeds the capacity. Demand is volatile and
influenced by a variety of factors as it arises from the flow of attendees through a
festival, and when capacity constraints arise, queues and bottlenecks may occur.
Capacity management is an important part of visitor control since it involves
calculating the proper occupancy for any specific event and making decisions based
on those capabilities therefore it is better for Quoz Arts Fest to appropriately predict
demand in order to avoid capacity constraints.

Recommendations:
They should focus on anticipating demand by rescheduling it so that there is a
greater capacity to accept more visitors. It is important for Quoz Arts Fest to move
demand from high peak to off-peak periods. Also, increasing capacity within Al
Serkal Avenue can be challenging because the location consists of structured
buildings or facilities, therefore, they cannot be overcrowded. They can extend the
opening hours till 12 am instead of the normal closing time of 10 pm. Or they could
open 2 hours earlier at 8 am in the morning to accommodate more visitors and vary
demand throughout the day. Whenever capacity is constrained, Quoz Arts Fest
could organize the event by implementing a demand-controlling scheduling system
known as pre booking or registering for the event. Pre-booking ensures demand
consistency, making planning and distribution simpler for the visitor managers, and
allows for management control in an indirect way, allowing customers to move from
peak to non-peak hours. Quoz Arts fest, therefore, needs to adopt a change demand
strategy to make this shift happen seamlessly.

Queueing
Queueing is an important component in providing excellent customer service.
Customers dislike queues, although they are essential in a variety of circumstances.
The first step in an event is to look at how products and services can be supplied to
the consumers in the most effective and efficient way. Many popular major events
need the appropriate use of queues. Customers despise having to stand in queue for
goods and services. Queues, on the other hand, are unavoidable whenever demand
exceeds supply. As for Quoz Arts Fest it can clearly be seen that there are no proper
queuing systems implemented as people make a line from wherever they want to in
order to get food from various food trucks at the festival. This shows that currently an
unstructured form of queue is being formed where people make a line with no help or
guidance from the staff. Moreover, it can be deduced that there is only one counter
in every food truck and one queue implying single line channel. Therefore, this
means that the employees at these food trucks are overburdened with the pressure
of trying to attend every customer which can then divert their attention away from
urgent activities, lower productivity, and efficiency, as well as lengthen wait periods
for certain services.

People will exit the queue if the waiting period is too lengthy, if the waiting spaces
are too congested, and if the employee is manually controlling the lines, there may
be numerous issues, as a result of which the consumers will leave without getting
any food. Employee attitude, level of knowledge, and other factors are all significant,
but if a consumer has to wait for ages to get to the counter, they will be dissatisfied
and possibly flustered. It is exceedingly difficult for the service worker to satisfy that
consumer in such a mood. Customers that arrive at the counter in a pleasant and
enjoyable mental state, on the other hand, will be far more receptive to
communication and even more tolerant and accommodating. This will make it much
easier for the service worker to fulfill and please the consumers.
Recommendations:
Queue management tools will assist Quoz Arts Fest in addressing and enhancing
productivity, turnovers, and customer happiness. Quoz Arts Fest should control
queues to deliver a more seamless experience overall and improve customer
relationships. There should be structured queues implemented that have a defined
pattern, such as standing in a line or making use of a ticketing system where
customers are given a token with their number. With this ticketing system,
customers would not have to deal with unexplained or uncertain waits as they will
know which token number is being currently served and by when their turn will come.
As these people were unoccupied while waiting for their turn this means that as
unoccupied waiting periods feel longer, Quoz Arts Fest should try to come up with
ways to keep them engaged maybe give them food samples or menu on tablets
where they can decide what to order. Moreover, food vendors should make use of a
multichannel queuing system with multiple counters taking orders of customers. This
will aid in reducing the average queue time for every individual hence improving their
service experience.

The quantity of people, how they will be serviced, queue features, demand trends,
and other factors will all be examined by an adequate queue management system.
Proper management of this situation provides numerous benefits, ranging from
higher customer satisfaction to increasing employee happiness and reduced
customer complaints. The psychology of queuing should also be given importance
as it gives visitor supervisors with perspectives and knowledge of the service
encounter's wait time.
Visitor Flow Chart

Currently, there are several narrow spaces during the festival that people have to go
through and if these areas are overcrowded, it can cause various issues to the
property of Al Serkal Avenue. There is no fixed pattern of visitor flow during the event
as people

Recommendations
Quoz Arts Fest must have the capacity to form a visitor flow plan. The flow of guests
in a venue can be represented using charts such as the one shown above. They
allow managers to determine capacity restrictions anywhere along visitor flow at
various points and to avoid or remove bottlenecks, queues, stabilize demand and
capacity. Alternative proposals can be developed by questioning the order of visitor
movements, allowing the visitor manager to make changes and minimize waste.

The following techniques can be implemented by the organizers of Quoz Arts fest to
improve visitor flow during the festival:
Pre-booking All Attendees: enabling visitors and attendees to pre-register their
visit before they arrive to Quoz Arts Fest, can significantly cut down the check-in time
which could be 5-10 minutes to a few seconds. This smooth interaction with third-
party platforms can allow the event planners to handle event attendance more
properly. This is also a form of predicting demand as event organizers can anticipate
potential visitor numbers for each day and then make decisions accordingly. There
can be a certain limit for registration for each day
QR Code Scanning to Check in: Once visitors pre book their attendance, a
customized QR Code should be sent to their registered email address. This QR code
should be scanned upon entry to Quoz Arts Fest by a smartphone in order to provide
a seamless and contactless integration into the event. This method will also benefit
the event organizers of Quoz Arts Fest to determine the number of visitors at peak
time so that in the future they can act accordingly.
Wayfinding and Digital Signage at the festival: There needs to adequate signs
placed at the venue so that it is easier for visitors to move around Al Serkal Avenue.
These signs give directions so visitors can find their way around the festival. Signs
locating entrance, exit as well as where activities and entertainment are being held
can help visitors get around the venue.
Physical management: Barriers or barricades usually restrict people's movement
across a space. This results in a well-ordered line with a low probability of line
cutters or people jumping queue. It is a simple technique to manage a people, yet it
can cause stress among customers as they may believe they are trapped. Therefore,
Quoz Arts Fest can have barriers put up at the entrance when visitors are scanning
their QR Code to enter the festival in order to manage crowd control and avoid
injuries or stampede.
Analysis of existing Marketing Mix
In order to assess the marketing strategy of Quoz Arts Fest it is essential to
understand their marketing mix. Each component in the marketing mix has an impact
on the another. They create an events business strategy, which, if executed
properly, can lead to enormous success in terms of visitor attendance. Moreover, the
marketing mix involves a great deal of knowledge, market analysis, and discussion,
therefore, it is of prime value to the decision making of Quoz Arts Fest.

Product: In this particular research, the event Quoz Arts Fest is the product. This
also consists of all the surrounding elements of the different performances and
activities that will be held at the festival such as live music, food trucks, and
contemporary art exhibitions to name a few. As the festival is the product, it is
important to personalize it to the wants and needs of the individuals that are going to
attend. There needs to be clear differentiation as to what makes Quoz Arts Fest the
best in the region when compared to other art and cultural festivals. The key point
that can be understood is that the event organizers of Quoz Arts Fest try their level
best to create a memorable experience for its visitors by constantly changing the
theme and way hosting the event including its list of activities every year and they do
is without charging a single penny from any of its visitors for past several years.
Moreover, most of these aspects can be considered as a service which means that it
has the attributes of intangibility, inseparability, and heterogeneity. As there are a
high number of service encounters at the event, customer service becomes a crucial
aspect of event. There will be expectations to be met by these performers and other
employees and quality of service will solely be dependent on these employees.

Price: In terms of pricing, Quoz Arts Fest is free to attend for all individuals. This
advertisement of free can have a lot of benefits and drawbacks as well. Since there
is no cost involved when attending this event, it means there is guaranteed footfall.
There will be a steady stream of visitors as it’s a well-known fact that people enjoy
receiving free things.  If an event costs only an individual's time and participation,
there are more chances that they are going to eventually show up. However, not
everyone is interested in going to a free event as they might perceive the event with
low quality due to its vagueness. They might think the event has no value, which is of
course not the case for Quoz Arts Fest. People may believe that event organizers
did not put sufficient energy into event planning and are concerned that no one will
attend which is why they provided a free event to assure that at least someone
attends.

Place: This refers to the physical location or venue where the festival is taking place
which in this case is Alserkal Avenue. This is where the market as well as distribution
of services and products happen through a range of distribution channels. Therefore,
in order for Alserkal Avenue to be the perfect venue for hosting such event it needs
to fulfill certain requirements. Firstly, accessibility places a key role and Alserkal
Avenue is located in Al Quoz which is right next to Sheikh Zayed Road and is also
reachable from First Al Khail Street. Various mode of public transportation is
available for people to use to visit Alserkal Avenue as bus stops are a 7-to-10-minute
walk from the venue. However, the nearest metro station is which is Al Safa Metro
Station is a 30-minute walk to Alserkal Avenue which could be a hassle for many
visitors who do not want to spend money on hiring a taxi. Moreover, the main
problem that can be identified in terms of place is that there are no parking spaces
available for visitors coming to Alserkal Avenue. As per several reviews on
TripAdvisor, there are no parking spaces at the venue which is a major issue as
38,000 visitors attended the event in 2020 and this number is likely to grow every
year. As majority of the residents living in the UAE use car as a mode of
transportation, this could mean there is a large segment of the market that is not
being catered to.
Promotion: Quoz Arts Fest had to make use of various promotional techniques to
inform potential visitors about the event, create awareness, and build a positive
brand image among the minds of visitors. The event organizers acquired the
services of a London based marketing agency called '(hug)'. They offer a wide range
of services when it comes to branding and designing. Their team consists of
developers, creatives to writers who have plenty a lot of expertise in marketing
services. They have been a played a key role in some famous successful events
such as the London 2012 Olympics.

" Time was of the essence, we had just over a month to reach as many potential
attendees as we could and encourage them to visit Quoz Arts Fest " - Elizabeth
Lichten

As per the brand strategist at (hug), their strategy involved obtaining as much

information about Al Serkal Avenue's demographic as rapidly as possible,
particularly going through data from the previous year's event. They were then able
to implement well-informed campaigns that were constantly controlled, modified, and
enhanced. They were wary about distributing their budget too widely, but they also
intended to try new things. Every choice depended on information and data provided
by Al Serkal Avenue, along with their own previous experience.

Facebook and Instagram Advertising

Hug needed to make sure that any testing done was fast and effective because they
had a small period of time to do any marketing activity. Alserkal Avenue's team had a
clear grasp of who their target demographic was and what they intended to see, so
their message simply needed to be altered marginally and was incredibly effective.
Hug offered creative advice on what was most likely to succeed and built up a large
number of initiatives that they thought would produce the highest results.

On Instagram, posts are uploaded before the event to generate awareness among
the target audience. Quoz Arts Fest tried to emphasize why their event is important
to attend and the benefits that guests will receive. During this stage, their posts were
more persuasive as invite people to the region's most loved arts and culture festival
on by highlighting the celebration of local creative talent from the region and most
importantly the fact that it is free for all. Whereas during the event they posted
Instagram stories and exclusive behind the scenes coverage of setting up the event.
Hashtags such as #QuozArtsFest were used in every post on social media to create
hype and divert traffic toward these social media platforms.

YouTube Advertising
The employees from hug were excited to test YouTube advertising because they had
not tried any of it before. They assisted in processing footage they had before and
set up adverts to increase traffic to the website of Quoz Arts Fest. A short video was
made to promote on YouTube which increased customer engagement since this
platform has a massive reach consisting of billions of users. YouTube Advertising is
inexpensive as rates per view is $0.1 to $0.3 and this amount is not even charged for
those viewers who skip the advertisement within the first five seconds.

Recommendations - 4 P's
Product can always be improved by doing appropriate market research. The event
organizers of Quoz Arts Fest need to conduct various forms of primary and
secondary market research such as distributing online surveys to the email
addresses of the visitors. This would help in finding out what are the areas that need
improvement and how they can fulfill the expectations these visitors in the future.
Moreover, this form of research would also help in identifying the new trends and
preferences of consumers through which various aspects of the event such
entertainment, live music, or even food and beverage can be improved. In terms of
price, rather than holding an event that is free of cost, it would be better if Quoz Arts
Fest charges at least a modest ticket price. As the festival is a hit, it grows in
popularity and draws larger attendees each year. As a result, the ticket price must
increase. Ticket charges will enable the organizers to recover costs or generate a
profit. The event organizer could invest more money in improving the event in order
to improve the event's general effectiveness. It would also allow event organizers to
spend more money on branding and advertising and attracting more new visitors to
the event. As the event was initially free, it will be difficult to establish an acceptable
ticket pricing later because attendees will have become accustomed to spending
nothing. and will think as to why they should pay the next time they visit the festival.
It can then be tough for event organizers to persuade people to spend their money in
order to attend.

As for place, there needs to be a solution for parking spaces at the venue. There are
empty warehouses next to Alserkal Avenue up for leasing. Therefore, these
warehouses can be hired during the duration of the event in order to fill the gap of
providing temporary parking for visitors to Alserkal Avenue. Furthermore, there can
be free shuttle buses from the nearest Al Safa metro station to Alserkal Avenue at
every hour starting from 10 am till 10 pm so that more people are likely to visit the
festival once they know that they do not have to pay anything more to get to the
event. On the other hand, there should be a marketing budget kept aside for the
promotional techniques that will be implemented throughout the planning stage.
The marketing budget for Quoz Arts Fest will be able to specify how much money
will be dedicated to each marketing activity. Apart from social media advertising,
there are several forms of promotions that could be conducted in order to increase
visitor attendance at the event. This includes getting exposure through press as
being listed on a credible local news source site such Gulf News, The National, and
Khaleej Times can be a way of targeting different groups of the community.
Moreover, partnering up with Art magazines such as fact and aesthetica is another
way of targeting group of visitors to the event. TikTok is another popular social media
platform that needs to be targeted. Traditional ways of promotion such as leaflets
and brochures should also be given importance as they have proven to be a
successful form of promotion for cultural festivals over the years.

PESTEL Analysis of Quoz Arts Fest

This environment assessment technique can be primarily used by the event
organizers of Quoz Arts Fest to determine the impact of external macroeconomic
factors of the market or industry it operates in. It considers various aspects such as
political, social, economic, etc. These characteristics are deemed external as they
are outside the control of the event organizers, but they can still be carefully
assessed, and decisions can be made to mitigate any potential negative impacts.
Therefore, an in-depth PESTLE analysis of Quoz Arts Fest can improve the event's
preparedness to deal with external environmental instability.  Event managers can
make appropriate critical choices based on this analysis of the external environment.

Political:  Political stability is critical for events such as Quoz Arts Fest because it
affects consumer and shareholder morale, and thus has a broad effect on the
economy. Excessive political instability has major consequences for corporate
spending, investments, and development. Currently, there are not any major political
issues in the specific region where Quoz Arts Fest is functioning.

Economic: Labor demand and supply is an external factor that needs to be focused
on as event managers need to hire other personnel in charge of setting up the event
to volunteers. The workforce's abilities and capabilities have a significant impact on
the events overall performance whether it is a success or not. As a result, it's critical
for Quoz Arts Fest to assess labor market patterns, forecast significant trends, and
adjust talent acquisition tactics accordingly. Economic grown rate, inflation,
exchange, and interest rate are other factors for event managers to focus on.

Social: The major demographic traits, social beliefs, practices, and traditions of the
community in which Quoz Arts Fest operates are referred to as social elements.
Therefore, the festival must carefully manage social elements, as many famous
events have failed due to an inability to adjust to the socio-cultural setting.
Demographics including gender whether it plays a role in the attendance of the
event. Social equality and consumer behavior, whether the visitors are only from the
upper high class or open to all groups of people.

Technical: As technological development is speeding up and events are heavily

investing in new technologies to maintain a competitive advantage, it's critical for
Quoz Arts Fest to research and foresee ongoing and prospective technology
developments in order to achieve long term objectives. As for Quoz Arts Fest, the
softwares they make use of for project planning in order to allocate resources and
tasks all come under this section. Different softwares such as spreadsheet packages
can be used by the managers to make Gantt charts and analysis of tasks on the
critical path. Walkie talkies and portable digital assistants can be use when
coordinating the event. Computer aided design software will enable event managers
to have a visual perspective as to how the event will look like once it is ready.
Evaluation data can be collected through online surveys with the assistance of IT.

Environmental: Because of the increasing attention of stakeholders regarding

energy efficiency and environmental preservation, environmental analysis has
become increasingly important in the events industry. This includes practices such
as recycling, reusing, reducing as well as having effective waste management at the
event venue. Weather and climate are another key external factors that Quoz Arts
Fest takes into consideration as the event is in an outdoor area, the event is
conducted usually during the months of January and February where it is cooler. If
the event was held during summer season such as July or August, there would been
a sharp decline in visitor numbers due to the unbearable heat of Dubai.

Legal: Government rules and regulations policies have a significant impact on Quoz
Arts Fest's political impact. Otherwise, the event organizers will have to pay a
penalty if it fails to meet the government's standards. The festival is also redefining
the norms of the Art industry so this could result in a violation of government rules
and standards if it fails to adhere to these regulations. Intellectual property laws and
consumer protection laws in the UAE need to be understood by the event
organizers.